MFVA Profiles - Priests

Rev. Fr. Leonard Mary

Bio – Rev. Br. Leonard Mary, MFVA comes from East Los Angeles, California. Before religious life, he attended community college part-time, worked for a department store for seven years, served as a lay missionary and was active at his local parish. He entered the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word in October 2002 and professed final vows on August 14, 2008. Br. Leonard was ordained to the diaconate on May 21, 2011 and completed his theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary on May 4, 2012 earning a Masters in Divinity. Fr. Leonard was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 2012 and serves primarily in Irondale. He is the EWTN Employee Chaplain, Director of Temporary Professed Brothers, and is the MFVA Media General Manager.

1. The Lord Jesus says to his disciples: I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. 2. If you had known me, you would also have known my Father and from now on you will know him and have seen him. 3. Philip says to him: Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us. Jesus says to him: 4. Have I been with you for so long a time and you have not known me? Philip, whoever sees me, sees also my Father (Jn. 14:6-9).

5. Sacred Scripture says that the Father lives in inaccessible light (cf. 1 Tim. 6:16), and God is Spirit (Jn. 4:24) and, No one has ever seen God (Jn. 1:18). 6. Therefore he cannot be seen except in the Spirit since it is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh does not offer anything (Jn. 6:64). 7. But neither, inasmuch as he is equal to the Father...

The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word (MFVA) is a Public Clerical Association of the Faithful, located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. They were founded in 1987 by Mother Angelica, who also founded the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The primary residence of the Friars is in Irondale, Alabama and is next door to EWTN. They also have residences in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where their Seminarians attend Mount Saint Mary's Seminary, and in Hanceville, Alabama, near the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The Friars' apostolate is to communicate the Catholic faith by word and example. It involves using the media: television, radio and the Internet, as well as publishing and conducting retreats...